Windows Firewall Control (WFC) by BiniSoft.org

Just in case I was using the installer exe available here : https://account.arena.net/welcome

There's a translation problem in the french file :
800 = Outgoing connection blocked
is translated
800 = Connexion entrante bloquée
it should be
800 = Connexion sortante bloquée

 

Make sure that remote connections are accepted on the remote machines where you want to connect. Did you create any inbound rule to allow remote desktop connections ? If not, if you disable Windows Firewall on those machines, are you able to connect to them ? If the answer is yes, then check the Connections Log on those machines and take a look at recently inbound connections.

I will try to see if I can change the on top setting of the help and the activation windows.

Thank you for the installer link. Regarding the translation files, I can't repair all of them, I just post the updated files on the website when I receive them from WFC users.

 

Why is Windows Firewall Control attempting connections to Akamai-Netherlands ?

The entries below are from the default log = blocked outbound connections.

 

Fixed.

 

It's already a convoluted mess for any novice\beginner. Adding more functionality will not make WFC better, but instead worse in regards to usability.

There is already a lot of functionality in WFC that the vast majority of users - typical, intermediate and advanced - do not need.

 

@alexandrud

Does the rules installed by Windows Firewall Control ensure that if I enable Secure Rules that basic internet functionality will be maintained ?

Or does one need to create a Core Networking authorized group to ensure proper internet functionality ?

 

OK, if there is no need of new significant features. Just bug fixing

 

Sorry, guest, you are certainly welcome to make further feature requests (we know Alexandru is open for that).

It was just a request that has nothing really to do with the "target" of WFC.

This means really not that from now WFC should be a "just bug fixing" project!

In this sense and greetings to you!

 

@alexandrud

Suggestion for translation things:

Each translator should have an email address in the LNG file under "// Author:" (or another contact possibility). Personally, I will start this with next translation file.

So corrections could be sent direct to the translators.

Nevertheless it could be non-obligatory. However: you could send this suggestion to all translators.

 

Is there any plan to support more remote address keywords used by WFAS (other than LocalSubnet) : Internet, Intranet..?

 

Basic internet functionality will be maintained only if you use WFC recommended rules. If not, then you should add first the required groups into the authorized groups list.

Maybe not all translators want to publish their email address. If a translation file will contain also the email address of the translator, I have nothing against this.

I use Windows 7 for privacy purposes. After I read your comment, I checked in a virtual machine with Windows 10 and I noticed that there are more keywords available. I will add support for them in the next WFC version. Thank you for reporting this.

 

Hi Alexandru.

I don't know if it is possible to block a program even while using a VPN or not. For example, fx-Calc, I have a block rule for it but as you can see the rule is not useful if I use a VPN service.
http://i.imgur.com/rsXCt96.png

It will be a big problem if there is no way to block programs completely.

 

It might help if you duplicate the rule for this app, and make one for Public and one for Private.

This way, you can work with the app and have a corresponding rule for ISP connection and VPN connection.

 

Did it but the program is still dialing home. The connection is not blocked.

There should be a workaround for this but don't know it. I have tested 2 other firewall programs and they were successful to block even when using VPN. But I like this piece of software and hoping to find a solution.

 

@J4NY4R

You could post your connections log details about this undesired outgoing traffic. Plus your exist related rules.

Additionally explain exactly, when you are in which location (privat, domain, public).

Then we could (better) analyze that case and hopefully find a solution for you.

 

Thanks for you care @Alpengreis . There is no connection log details related to the mentioned program, fx-Calc. Because it can make a connection while using VPN.

Let's try to reproduce it:
1. Install fx-Calc www.fx-calc.de/app/fxcsetup_en.exe (A little freeware calculator)
2. Create a block rule for it (Protocol/Ports/IPs/Location/etc = Any/All)
Now the program is blocked and you can check it by running the program and watching its online status at the bottom of the window.
3. Download and run the portable anti censorship tool, UltraSurf https://ultrasurf.us/download/u.zip or Freegate dongtaiwang.com/loc/software/fg/759/fg759p.exe.
4. Run fx-Calc again. This time you can see its status is online!

Any idea is welcome

 

@J4NY4R

Okay, thanks.

If I understand this correctly, UltraSurf Tool is a Proxy Tool. This would be explain it, because then the fx-Calc would go over this Proxy Tool and no more via "direct connection" it seems.

And you can read on the WFC page: http://www.binisoft.org/wfc.php

"Windows Firewall is incompatible with software proxies, web filtering modules, NDIS drivers."

The reason is: if you use a such Proxy and some or all connection goes over this Proxy (inc. your fx-Calc it seems), you would to have block the Proxy no more fx-Calc. But if you would block the Proxy, you block ALL connections which go over the Proxy (maybe even all your outgoing connections) - or in other words: WFC have no more "control" over the different programs which use this Proxy.

Result: if this is really a Software Proxy as I assume, then this software is incompatible with WFC. And this can't be fixed by design.

 

That's it. But should I do now? Leaving the lovely WFC and using another firewall program?

 

"Windows Firewall is incompatible with software proxies, web filtering modules, NDIS drivers."
WFC is a program to manage the rules only for Windows Firewall.
If you can't get Windows Firewall to do what you want/need then you can't use WFC either.

 

@alexandrud

WFC 4.8.8.0

On W7:

BUG (remains on W7 - but appears to be fixed on W10)

When an application such as Kingsoft WPS makes a large number of outbound connections, multiple notifications and rules are still being created. However, whatever fixes you made has greatly reduced the problem. Before sometimes there would be 10 notifications upon the initial launch of the program -- and the notifications would quickly freeze.

The freezing of WFC outbound notifications caused by the massive number of outbound connections has been resolved on both W7 and W10.

Perhaps this below is by design:

Enable Secure Boot > Reboot System > Disable Secure Boot > Reboot System > High Filtering mode is still enabled; disabling Secure Boot does not auto-disable High Filtering mode

 

Sorry, I can't give you an answer, it's your decision.

 

I use a VPN, but have set up my firewall rules strictly to the point where what I want is allowed and what I don't want, is not allowed. I suggest before ditching WFC, which is just an interface for Firewall Rules located in the Windows OS... you perfect your domain, private & public rules to reflect your ideal setup...

eg:
Public strictly for VPN
Private strictly for ISP
Domain strictly to prevent VPN leaks
---whether you set the above up as policies that are loaded/unloaded, or you make it one big setup and manually enable/disable individual rules, up to you...

In your case it will be difficult because you use a software proxy, for reasons unclear to me at this point in time. But it begs the question, why bother with a VPN if you are using a software proxy from the perspective of anonymity and privacy, as opposed to layer-protection... unless the VPN hasn't proven to you yet that they do not log (assuming that is your main concern). It might be worthwhile ditching a software proxy for apps and swapping to a DNS proxy, just a thought.

Forgive me, I was going to mention AdGuard for Windows, but that just deals with browsers, so I won't. Only wanted to mention it because it has proxy capabilities, but since your concern is with a 3rd party app, I will stop now... lol

 

up until now this program has worked extremely well for me, no glitches.

However today I reinstalled chrome (to downgrade from beta back to stable) and this seemed to also remove the existing chrome rule so internet traffic was blocked.

There was no notification.

In addition double clicking the WFC system tray icon didnt do anything, same with right clicking, all other system tray icons behaved normally.

I killed the wfc process and relaunched it, and its UI worked again, but still no notification.

I then set filtering to no filtering, then back to medium profiling, and finally got a prompt for chrome. I am on build 4.8.50 win 8.1 x64. I am about to update to the latest WFC.

 

Thank you, @Alpengreis ,@jwcca ,@marzametal for taking part in my issue.

It's really hard for me to ditch WFC, and it's just Alexandru's fault that has made this piece of software lovely
What is your opinion about combination of WFC + COMODO Firewall or something else? I have played a little with this combination and it seems there is no incompatibility with eachother.

By the way, Alexandru, will there be any plan to extend WFC abilities in the future so that there will not be anyone of those limitaions?

 

I can't reproduce this even if I tried with Kingsoft WPS. It behaves correctly on my test computers. I make a test application that generates hundreds connections per second from code and WFC could manage them. I can't improve this anymore in WFC code. If you have this problem only with this software, please make an allow rule for it or a block all rule and forget about it. I really can't reproduce this problem.

Secure Boot will only set High Filtering profile at shut down. It does not restore any previously used profile. When you uncheck the check box, you just inform WFC to set High Filtering at system shut down. No other action is done.

Please check the WFC log. Based on the fact that you have restarted wfc.exe and even with the notifications enabled you did not receive any new notification, then probably the WFC service (wfcs.exe) was also having problems. Unresponsive WFC is usually caused by a 3rd party security software.

Since WFC doesn't do any packet filtering, it is not possible to fix this at WFC level. As already mentioned, the problem is not WFC, but how Windows Firewall works.